Weaker Upfront May Put Pressure on Scatter Market

摘要

The Broadcast upfront market was weaker than expected, which means the networks will have to sell more of their commercial inventory in the scatter market. Broadcasters typically aim to sell about 80% of their inventory in the upfront, but analyst David Joyce of Miller Tabak + Co. estimates they sold only about 77% in this upfront so they could maintain price increases, which were in the 6% to 9% range. Economic factors including the stock market, unemployment and global financial issues impacted the scatter market and "had the effect of dampening the upfront negotiations," Joyce said in a report.